Samsung Sidekick 4G

Take a fancy little look at the slightly lower than high-range device soon to be released on T-Mobile. It's an Android based Samsung handset with codename "Hawk" and a propensity to speed along at 1GHz and 21 Mbps HSPA+. It's got a body that looks very similar to the recently released Samsung Gem," has a VGA camera on the front and a 3 megapixel camera on the back with flash, and it costs a whole lotto money: $325 dollars USD.

The T-Mobile Sidekick 4G has only been on sale since Wednesday, but that hasn't slowed down the rooting masters at xda-developers. They've already come up with a root for the messaging-centric smartphone, opening the door to custom ROMs and other juicy hacks.
The root is the handiwork of "josby", but according to other xda members there are several ways to hack the Sidekick 4G. Next up is stripping away some of the preinstalled apps T-Mobile load onto the handset, which may give it an extra turn of speed.
We found the Sidekick to be something of a unique proposition among Android devices, doing a darn good job of following in the footsteps of its unusual predecessors and differentiating itself for a pretty specific market. More on the Sidekick 4G in the full Android Community review.
[Thanks Kenny!]

1) enable debug USB mode on your phone2) install Samsung drivers for the phone - right now Samsung's site seems to not have a choice for the Sidekick 4G's model (SGH-T839), but I grabbed the drivers for the Vibrant (at www .samsung.com/us/support/downloads/SGH-T959ZKDTMB) and they worked.3) get adb shell working on your PC (Google it)4) download the rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin and Superuser packages from the links in this page: wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Hero_%28CDMA%29:_Full_Update_G uide (be sure to unzip the files into the directory where your adb.exe program is unless you've put it in your path)5) reboot your phone and plug it in6) adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp7) adb shell8) cd /data/local/tmp9) chmod 755 rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin10) ./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin11) wait until you get booted back out to your DOS command prompt12) adb kill-server 13) adb start-server 14) adb shell15) you should now be at a # prompt. The first few times I tried, I wasn't - I was at $. Doing this from a fresh boot seemed to be the trick. Reboot your phone and try again if you're getting a $.16) mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/stl9 /system17) exit 18) adb push su /system/xbin 19) adb shell chmod 4755 /system/xbin/su 20) adb push Superuser.apk /system/app 21) adb shell mount -o remount,ro /dev/block/stl9 /system22) exit 23) reboot the phone then run an app that requests root, such as Root Explorer, to verify

You may have noticed that there's a bit of spreading out going on here with this T-Mobile G2x unit we've got here on Android Community. What's going on here is that we're taking a new approach since this is such a flagship device and we're putting a little bit more time into each test and example. Sometime in the next couple of days there'll be one comprehensive review post, but for now, bits everywhere! What this post consists of is a few photo examples and one 1080p video. Spoiler: they look pretty nice.

Last time I did some speed tests on a phone there was a bit of an argument over the fact that the targeted city was across the country. So you know what I did? Exactly what I should have been doing the whole time with Speed Test, a service that notes in their Q and A section that their GPS system isn't perfect, I drove around the city getting different tests. Not only did I do this on the G2x, but I did an extended test for the Sidekick 4G, the phone that I last got Speed Tests on. What you're going to find is that there's not much difference in T-Mobile's "4G" service anywhere you go around Minneapolis and Saint Paul Minnesota.

We had an extra 5 minutes today, believe it or not, so a few photos were indeed fired off. What transpired here was a comparison photo shoot (with a few specs below too, if you'd like,) that compared the T-Mobile G2x to the Sidekick (just for fun,) then to the HTC ThunderBolt and the AT&T ATRIX 4G. Would you like to know which one is the thickest? It's the Sidekick - spoiler! Would you like to know which one looks the most awesome? That's something you're going to have to decide for yourself. This is an odd assortment you're not going to find anywhere else - I guarantee it.

T-Mobile USA has confirmed that the Sidekick 4G will arrive on its network come April 20. The news comes as little surprise, however, since RadioShack already announced the launch date back at the end of last month.
Still, we won't argue with official confirmation, and we know plenty of would-be Sidekick buyers who will likely feel the same way. The original series of devices built up a strong following, though it remains to be seen how many of them will follow the reskinned Android UI and familiar aesthetic over to the new-generation platform.
Pricing for the messaging-centric handset will be from $99.99 with a new, two-year agreement including an unlimited data plan. For more on the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G check out our full hands-on.

This must be an April Fool's joke coming in a day early. What carrier in their right mind, what carrier worth their salt, what carrier in the entire world would release three gigantically flagship-title-worthy devices on the same day? T-Mobile I suppose, that's who. Radio Shack has tweeted today that the brand new T-Mobile Sidekick 4G will be coming out on April 20th, 2011.

T-Mobile has come out with assurances that customers of both AT&T and T-Mobile will see improved performance and more widespread 4G LTE deployment with the merger of both companies. C.O.O. Jim Alling explains that merging both companies allows for deployment of a "robust" 4G LTE network to 95% of the US population. Without the merger, neither company could accomplish this goal within the same time-frame. Alling also promises improved voice and data performance almost immediately after the networks are integrated.

Here at CTIA 2011 we've been granted the opportunity to get a slightly early hands-on with the first Sidekick to be jam packed with Android goodness. This device comes in two color schemes, one of them with a black underside and white back, the other with a white underside and pink back. This phone, in my own personal opinion, marks a turning point for Android, one where devices running Google's mobile OS are aimed at the feminine instead of just the masculine brute in us all, that one who loves every color just so long as it's BLACK!

T-Mobile has confirmed official pricing for the incoming Sidekick 4G, the first handset in the popular messaging line to use Android as its OS. The T-Mobile Sidekick 4G will be priced at $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a qualifying plan with unlimited data, assuming you're content with a two-year agreement.
Alternatively, T-Mobile will be offering the slider smartphone for $149.99 with a qualifying plan including data (such as the Web – 200MB plan) on a two-year agreement. Handy for those who don't expect to use so much data during the lifetime of the device, but a little more expensive up-front.
We'll be checking out the Sidekick 4G at CTIA 2011 this week, to see how well it follows in the footsteps of its popular predecessors. No word on exact release dates at this stage.
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